Two-time champion France resumed its qualifying campaign for the European Championship with a fifth straight win Thursday, while the Netherlands eased to a 3-0 victory against Greece in Group B. France produced yet another clean sheet beating Ireland 2-0 and extending its lead to nine points over both the Netherlands and Greece. The Dutch defeated their Greek rivals 3-0. Both sides have six points, but Ronald Koeman s team has played one match fewer than Greece. Poland revived its chances with a brace from Robert Lewandowski in a 2-0 win over the Faeroe Island in Group E. The Czech Republic leads the group with 8 points, one more than Albania, after they drew 1-1.
Three best teams from Group A (Spain, Montenegro and Islamic Republic of Iran) and just as many from Group B (France, Slovenia and Poland) have progressed to the main round Group I, where they will fight for two quarter-final spots.
After making their debut at the IHF Men's World Championship in 1997, Saudi Arabia participated eight more times, always finishing somewhere between 19th and the 23rd.
Four years ago, at Denmark/Germany 2019, the Asian team were ranked 21st but failed to qualify for Egypt 2021 after only finishing seventh at the 2020 AHF Men's Asian Championship. However, the next edition of the Asian Championship was held in Saudi Arabia in 2022, and the home side won bronze, which helped them to secure a spot at Poland/Sweden 2023.
The 2022 FIFA men's World Cup in Qatar is 234 days away and a major step was taken toward the biggest sporting event on the planet with the draw taking place Friday.